Life-saving guard for steam and motor road-vehicles



G. L. L-AVINGTON.

LIFE SAVING GUARD FOR STEAM AND MOTOR ROAD VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25. 1920.

1,386,938. Patented Aug. 9, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1' G. L. IL'A VINGTON. LIFE SAVING GUARD FOR STEAMAND MOTOR ROAD VEHICLES.

- I APPLlCATlON FILED JUNE 25, 1920. 1,386,938. PatentedAug. 9,1921.

24 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[AI/II] I 11 ill/l Ill/I Gila/virgin jy $981M my warren stares P TE oFFlcEj GEORGE LEONARD LAV ING-TON, OF EAST HAM, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR O'F ONEQHAIiF TO ARTHUR WILLIS, 0F WINGHMO-RE HILL, ENGLAND.

. LIFE-SAVING G ARD r03 STEAM AND Moron Roan-VEHICLES- Y Application filed June 25,

To, all whom it may concern:

and useful Life-Saving Guards for Steam' and Motor Road-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to life saving devices adapted to be placed on the front of steam and motor drivenroad vehicles and the like. V

Many such devices have been proposed but though difiering greatly from the struc tural point of view they agree in the common purpose of pushing a prone person alongin front of the vehicle, scooping him up .or plowing him to one side, no matter whether he has fallen before the collision or whether he has been knockeddown by the vehicle.

In contrast to the above, the object of the present invention is to provide a device which will prevent a person collided with by the front of the vehicle from falling to the ground and support him in such a manner that time is allowed for the vehicle to stop and so avoid running over the person who has been struck by the guard.

In life saving devices for vehicles as heretofore constructed, no account has been taken of the desirability of preventing a person collided with from throwing his feet into the air and so falling directly to the ground.

According to the present invention the feet of a person collided with are held by the guard and carried forward so that the fall of the person is controlled in such a manner that he falls upon the guard, which is so designed that it retains and supports him, thus giving time for the vehicle to stop before the person can fall to the ground in front of the vehicle.

The invention consists in a guard formed of a suitable framework adapted to be attached to the front of a vehicle and having along its lower edge a device in advance of the framework adapted to push forward the feet of the person collided with and hold them in the lateral direction thus causing the person to fall against the guard, which retains and supports him.

The invention further consists in constructing the guard in the form of a frame Specification of Letters' latent. I Patented Aug. 9, 1 921.

1920. Serial No. 391,742.

with cross-bars situated-in a plane slightly in front of the main frame, the cross-bars being placed in such a position that the arm .or other portion of the person collided with naturally engages between these bars and the rear part of the frame, which retain him and prevent him falling to the ground for a period sufiicient to allow the driverto stop the. vehicle.

The invention further consists'in the improved guard for fitting in front of ave.- hicle hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying dra-w 1ngs:

while Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the guard in position in front of the vehicle.

Fig. 3 is a section showing a detail of the attachment, while i Figure 1 is a front. view of the guard,"

' Fig. 4 is a section showing the method of attaching the device for catchingthe feet of the person collided with. 1

- "Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55,'Fig. 3Q

portion of the- Fig. 6 is a plan-view of a guard shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

- In carrying the invention into effect according to the form illustrated,there is provided a rectangular frame The plane of the sets I) is a few inches in front of the sets 0 so that spaces areprovided between the horizontal vertical members 0 and d.

When fixed to the vehicle the frame may take-up an inclined-position, as shown in Fig. 2, being held by suitable supporting arms 0, or it may be vertical with the top curved back over the chassis. v I

Along the bottom edge of the frame there 'is provided a forwardly projecting strip 7 of leather or the like scalloped along its front edge as shown at 9, Figs. 1 and 6, to

form recesses adapted to admit the ankle of a over which are stretched wire cords or rods in two sets I) '0.

rods 6 b b and the ground, this delay allowing a sufficient period for the driver to stop the vehicle.

Any suitable device may be employed for securing the frame to the vehicle, but 1 pre fer to employ the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. In this device a block it is fixed to the upright 0 of the frame, the block having in it two apertures 10 in which the ends of a spring loop Z are inserted. The width of the loop is such that on lifting the end m, the sides of the loop come in contact with the inclines a on the block h sothat the free ends 0 0 of the loop are separated. By

this means the end 39 of the arm 6 can be 1nserted in the vertical socket a" in the block and when inserted can be retained by a loop Z which on being pressed downward engages with one of the notches or apertures s in the part 22. T he guard is thus retained firmly on the arm 6. I i

It will be seen that the frame may, if desired, be made reversible so that either the horizontal bars or vertical bars are in front.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 2- 1. A life saving guard for steam and motor road vehicles comprising in combination; a. frame-work, means for attaching said frame-work to the front of the vehicle, and means projecting in the forward direction and'havingrecesses alongits edge, as and for the purpose described.

2. A life saving guard for steam and motor road vehicles: comprising in combination; sets of bars at right angles forming a frame-work, means for attaching said framework to the front of a vehicle, a strip of flexible material attached along the lower edge of said frame-work, scalloped recesses in said strip, such recesses being of suitable width and at a suitable height above the ground to engage around the ankle of a person standing in front of the vehicle, as and for the purpose described.

3. A life saving guard for steam and motor road Vehicles comprising in combination; sets of bars at right angles forming a frame-work, means for attaching said framework to the front of a Vehicle, said framework comprising horizontal bars projecting in front of the main portion of the frame work, a strip of flexible material attached along the lower edge of said frame-work, scalloped recesses in said strip, such recesses being of suitable width and at a suitable height above the ground to engage around the ankle of a person standing in front of the vehicle, as and for the purpose described.

4. A life saving guard for steam and motor road Vehicles. comprising in combination; a frame-work adapted to be attached to the front of a vehicle, and means for attaching said framework including a block having inclined faces fixed to said frame work, a spring loop carried by said block, said loop being adapted to be opened by its upward movement and closed by its downward movement, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. I

GEORGE LEONARD LAVINGTON. 

